


Imaginary?

by SimiAyla



Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Happy Ending, Newt is a sweetheart, One Shot, The Death Cure Spoilers, Writing Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 03:30:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13627677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimiAyla/pseuds/SimiAyla
Summary: - Instead of Heaven or Hell, when you die, you find yourself in the room of a six-year-old girl who invites you to join her tea party. It soon dawns on you, you're her imaginary friend -Newt is a sweetheart and everyone knows it.





	Imaginary?

\- Instead of Heaven or Hell, when you die, you find yourself in the room of a six-year-old girl who invites you to join her tea party. It soon dawns on you, you're her imaginary friend -

He had to watch his best friend who stood across from him with tears streaming down his grime covered face with bloodshot eyes. Gun raised level with Newt's eyes. He hated himself for this. Thomas was his friend and he was begging him to do the unspeakable

"Please Tommy" He felt his own tears fall and the words left his lips before he could stop them. He heard the click of the safety on the gun before the bullet came pelting through the air.

The pain he had expected never came, instead, his world was engulfed by darkness. The pain that had previously raked through his body, immediately shut off as if someone had flicked a switch. He stood -or maybe he floated- in the black abyss for a few beats, completely unaware if he was breathing, if his body had any weight to it or if he was even conscious. Then with a sharp intake of breath, the world around him snapped into a vivid image with bright colors and detailed textures. He allowed his startled mind a moment to process what was actually happening. He could once again feel himself inhale and exhale as naturally as he had done when he was alive, he felt the steady beat of his heart against his ribs, ears, and fingertips. He sucked in cool and relieving breaths. Slowly he hauled himself to his feet which reminded him of how heavy his body actually was. After a second he realized he had to be in the room of a young girl. The walls were painted with a pastel pink that burned his eyes if he looked at them for too long. A small single bed covered with a frilly donna and there was the faint smell of strawberry-scented glitter pens (how he knew what they smelt like was a mystery to him). He felt so out of place in this room, it just seemed to be too innocent compared to the horrendous things he had seen in his short life. Dwelling on this thought he allowed his eyes to continue their scan of the room and what he saw next only baffled him more. 

Another person occupied the room. She was a young girl, she looked to be five, six at most. She lifted her head to look him dead in the eyes, his chocolate gaze met her forest green one. Her eyes widened before they creased at the edges as her mouth pulled into a big smile. Other then her initial shock she showed no fear at his sudden appearance, in fact quite the opposite. He watched as she stood and all but bounced over to where he still stood rooted, her dark brown hair trailing behind her like a waterfall. His confusion increased when she started to talk.

"Are you okay? You look lost?" Her eyes glittered with genuine concern as she reached her hand up to lightly grip his. "Come on, come  
have a cup of tea it will make you feel better" He allowed himself to be dragged into the sitting area, but honestly what other choice did he have.

Hours passed like that, his long legs tucked under him in front of a small plastic table the same shade as the rest of her room, she sat across from him and refilled his cup of imaginary tea whenever she thought it was necessary. No more sense of the situation was made, unlike every other checkpoint in his life, he had no memories or even any instincts that help him figure out what he needed to do. The girl, herself, had been nothing but patient with him, she didn't push him for any kind of conversation and allowed him to understand the situation at his own pace. So considerate, for a 5-year-old. Finally, he managed to string a group of words together and ask a question

"What year is it?" His voice came out quiet and gravelly as if he had only just woken from a long slumber. He felt a sudden compulsion  
to play a part of her game and took a sip of the invisible liquid within his cup, he might have been crazy, but he swore he could almost taste the sweetness of it.

"Umm" Her eyebrows pulled together as she searched her limited knowledge, she blew up her cheeks and screwed her eyes shut as she thought even harder "It's ... 20 ... 19?" He couldn't help the sharp intake of breath, confusion forming in his mind again. Had they cured The Flare, or was living in the distant past? Future? Now he had many more questions but he knew she could answer none of them. He placed the cup back down on the table and bowed his head, staring at his hands and wringing them together. Where was he right now? 

The girl seemed to be in no distress, no fear evident in her eyes or voice. He couldn't hear screams or explosions that should have been sounding there weren't even any of the far off and consistent beeps of a hospital or experiment ward. It was almost like there was nothing to be worried about. Maybe there wasn't, maybe this innocent could live her life without having to worry about her safety or the sanity of her family. That thought alone made Newt heave a great sigh of relief, he would never wish his fate on anyone, not even his enemy. The girl next to him seemed to register his moment of distress and had lifted herself from her spot, taking a seat next to him quietly. Without him even realizing she had placed her hand on the join between his shoulder and neck and he didn't know why but it was an oddly soothing gesture. He knew that if Minho and Thomas ever tried anything even remotely similar he would have kicked them in the shins without a second thought.

Thomas

Minho

For the first time since his 'death' Newt allowed himself to think about his friends. They could still be fighting a losing battle against WICKED and the cranks. He wondered if they were even still alive or if they had been infected and taken by the madness as well. He shook his head in an attempt to prevent that thought from taking root but it was too late. The image of Thomas and Minho wobbling through the streets with blistered skin, gushing wounds, black blood and blown out, bloodshot, insane eyes flashed in his mind. His whole body tensed and he felt the tears sting behind his eyes. Almost unaware of the girl's presence and unknowing of her hand, which was now sliding over his back in comforting circles, he let his tears run freely down his cheeks. This was very out of character for him, he would never have shown this kind of weakness in front of the other Gladers, but this situation. It was insane. He pulled his knees to his chest and buried his face in them. The girl made no sound or movement, but instead continued her soft comforting motions on his back, allowing him to filter through his self-pity and self-loathing as the reality of what he had asked his best friend to do really sank in.

Slowly his tears ceased, his breathing evened out and his heart returned to its normal beating pattern. It was then he realized the warmth of the girl's hand. She took this chance in his calmed state to pull his face away from his knees and plant a sweet kiss on his forehead. The gesture was small and shouldn't have meant anything to Newt as he had barely known her for more than 3 hours, but the warmth and gentleness of it slowed the last of his thoughts all the way and he let out another sigh of relief. It was like a great pressure had just been lifted from his chest and for the first time since the gunshot, he was breathing without any worry. She pulled back from his forehead and took his hands in hers - well his index, middle and ring finger because her hands were so tiny - and gave him a brilliant smile

"Everything is going to be okay, there is nothing to be scared of, there are no monsters here" He knew that she was probably talking about monsters from under the bed or the ones that slept in her closet, but it still made him feel better.

"Thanks, Ayla" His eyes widened slightly as the words left his mouth. He wasn't sure just how he knew her name, she hadn't actually introduced herself. But nonetheless, the name still felt and sounded right as it rolled off his tongue. And if her smile was any indicator he was right.

"That's okay, it's ok to cry when you're sad or scared! Also whats your name?" He smiled for the first time in ages, the muscles almost hurt from lack of usage. he stood surprised when he was able to take her weight with him. He lifted his knee from the ground and sat her down on it.

"I'm Newt" He let her go and attempted to balance her on the end of his knee for a moment, but she had no coordination and began to fall after barely a second, but like every child would she wanted another try, to prove that she could do it. So Newt spent the rest of the day trying his damnedest to get this kid to stay still on his knee but no luck.

Days. Weeks. Months. Newt wasn't aware of how long he had been with Ayla, time felt very different to how it usually did. He seemed to be bound to her room when she wasn't there, hours would pass like seconds, but when she was present, it slowed right down. Not long after discovering his boundaries he came to the conclusion that he must be a ghost of some sort. It worried him slightly. Ghosts are known for haunting humans that had hurt them in their lives or being bound to an object they had treasured in their life. The only thing that punched a hole in his ghost theory was the fact that he was able to physically touch and interact with Ayla, he was able to play imaginary games with her, give her a sense of escape from the real world as he flung her around the room and carried her to her bed. 

After a while, he noticed that her mother and father never came to check on her at any point during the day or night. In fact, no one else came into her room... ever. That worried Newt slightly. Was she alone? Did her family love her like they meant to? Did she even have anyone? Sometimes he thought about asking her those sorts of questions, but whenever he brought the train of conversation anywhere near there she would tense up and gain a pained look. However there was something that worried him even more than the lack of parental figures, and that was her nightly routine. After she had finished listening to a story presented to her by none other than Newt himself, she drifted into the abyss. She would stay relatively still for about 30 minutes before her eyebrows knitted together and she hisses as if in pain. She would kick and struggle as if something in her dreams were holding her in a death grip attempting to kill her. 

Sometimes it would get so bad, she would wake up with a shocking scream or tears streaming down her face. He would have loved to comfort her, scoop her into his arms and stroke her hair until her fears melted away and she could sleep without any trouble. But as whatever hellish force that held him here would have it, when she was sleeping was the only time he was unable to touch her. Unlike during the day where his arms were a solid mass, at night his limbs would faze right through her and a chill would shoot down his spine and spread through his body, as if someone had just injected ice into his bloodstream. He couldn't even move the sheets that seemed to hold her hostage in the terror her mind had created for her, he could move her pillow under her head so she had even the slightest form of comfort. It was torture, and he had to watch it every night. Then come morning when she woke, she always attempted to hide her exhaustion from him, hide the real fear and pain she was feeling, but he had been around terrified people almost 24/7. Soooo ... he could see the pain in her eyes behind the mask she had crafted. Somehow whoever was her parental figure didn't see the more than obvious signs of her exhaustion.

This particular night Ayla was having an episode that bordered on her worst yet. She woke suddenly scaring herself and Newt as he became aware of the wetness that slid down her cheeks and temples. She suddenly bolted into a sitting position, a single word leaving her lips that made his heart falter.

"NEWT!" He had never moved faster. He's barely knelt right down before Ayla had thrown herself at him. He captured her in a hug and allowed her force to push him to sit back. In the past when he'd tried to talk to her about her dreams she'd flat out refused and every time he kept pushing she would ignore him. The last time he had brought it up Ayla didn't talk to him until he promised to never ask again. He felt like he wouldn't have to this time.

Newt shuffled around so he could lean again the bed frame adjusting her slightly in his arms so he could rub up and down her back and allow him to press kisses to the top of her bed crazed brown hair when her breathing started stuttering again. It took 15 minutes for her tears to stop falling and her breathing to even out. She was breathing so deeply and evenly Newt thought she'd fallen asleep again, but he was proven wrong when a small voice escaped her, it was muffled in his shirt and he couldn't decipher it.

"What was that? He asked softly as to not send her into hysterics again. He tried to steal his nerves, prepare himself for anything she could say to him. But the 4 words that left her lips made his heart stop and breathe hitch

"Newt ... Who is Thomas?" He stared into the darkness of the room with wide eyes. Has she? No! Surely not ... If she'd seen the world he had come from she must be scared out of her mind. There was nothing about the life he remembered - and probably the life he didn't- that should be seen by the innocence of this girl. Tears stung at his eyes as he pulled her tighter to his body.

"Why did he hurt you?" A broken sob escaped his lips at her words, he knew she wouldn't understand, she was too young to understand. With a deep intake of breath, he calmed himself down long enough to answer her question

"It doesn't matter ... whatever you saw is over now ... and I'm fine" With his final words he took a gentle hold of her small hand and placed it on his chest. He allowed her to feel the slightly accelerated heartbeat that lay beneath. She stared intently at her hand, before pulling it back and leaning forward placing her ear in its place. Newt willed for his heart to slow down, he didn't want her to know how this really made him feel -although he had to admit she might not quite understand that yet-. It did as he wished and before long the rhythmic thumping lulled her to sleep. He was immediately hit with that cold feeling as she slowly began to faze through his body. As quickly and gently as he could he picked her up, laid down and pulled the blanket up and over her shoulder.

Newt had barely finished his last action before the light of his vision was swallowed by darkness. Just like when he died his body floated aimlessly in space, his hands awkwardly sitting where her body had been. He closed his eyes and thought of the pain Ayla his memories must have put her through. He didn't know how much she'd seen, but she'd seen enough to understand the relationship between Thomas and himself. Had she seen them fighting? An argument maybe? Or -and he hoped he was wrong- she watched as Thomas pulled the trigger. Before he could focus too much on the thought his feet hit something solid underneath him.

Hesitantly, he opened his eyes, taking in the vivid image around him. The room held none of the childish innocence of the former. With plain cream walls, from which posters had been clustered onto all sitting at strange angles. A bookshelf sat opposite him, stacked to the brim with books of all different sized, some even looked like kids books. Lastly, there was a double bed pushed against the corner, dark purple covers littered with beautiful black swirls over it. He'd been so entranced by his new surroundings that he didn't hear the booming footsteps behind him and was only made aware of the other presence in the area when the door next to him burst open with enough force to create a hole where the doorknob hit the wall -or maybe it was always there-. A girl came stomping through, she was crying, but these weren't tears of sadness, no these were tears of frustration. Her shoulders shook, small broken sobs escaped her throat even as she threw herself onto the bed and curled around her pillows. The tears didn't last much longer, instead, she switched to groaning in frustration. Newt stood there awkwardly, he knew she didn't see him on her way in and he didn't know whether he wanted her to notice in her state. But he had no time to move before her eyes moved to him. Newt knew those eyes, brilliant green eyes framed with a chocolate brown. It was Ayla. Her eyes widened and she chuckled mostly to herself and she buried her head in her knees.

"Come on Ayla, you are too old for imaginary friends" He walked over to her and lightly took a seat on her bed. She looked up at him, her eyes glassed over in memory

"Last time we spoke I was 7 years old. I'd had a dream. It took me a long time to understand what it meant. I watched as got shot in the head by your dearest friend" Newt looked at her in disbelief, although for him these events passed merely moments ago for her it looked to have been a decade. Did she remember it after all these years? and if she did ... did she have the understanding of the story now, or had time distorted her memory and lead her to the wrong conclusion. The silence stood for another moment before she continued "Back then I thought it was just a betrayal, like you see I the movies, where your best friend is actually the bad guy" She averted her eyes before continuing "But I also didn't know what a Zombie was" She explained, she shuffled slightly closer and grabbed one of his hands in hers. "And now I understand" Newt could see the tears welling in her eyes, he wished no such pain on her. So he repeated his actions from a few moments ago, He took one of the hands that grasped his and placed it over his heart. She took a deep breath and to Newt's surprised continued "The only reason I understand now is that I have friends of my own that mean everything to me ... If we'd been caught in a similar situation then-" She stuttered on her intake of breath, Newt leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead, just as she had once done for him. He saw her physically relax and lean into his touch, hand still on his chest.

He gave her a small smile before pulling away from her completely "So what's got you so bloody frustrated?" He was interested to know her answer, but it seemed he would never get to know. He heard her start the sentence with something like 'school is the worst' but didn't hear any further as her voice started fading into the distance, the world around him blurred everything becoming more and vaguer until he was left in a world of gray. The gray brightened to white and even though it should have been impossible the world started to sharpen again. The ground changed to the light green of healthy grass, then the sky a beautiful blue. But what he found himself focusing on were the two black dots that appeared in front of him. They had no vivid shape yet but as they grew bigger he took note they were at least human. He tried to prepare himself for anything as his vision finally focused, but he couldn't. Now standing not even a meter away. 

Thomas and Minho stood smiling at him -not smirking smiling-

"You're late," Thomas said reaching a hand forward Newt didn't think twice, he knocked the hand out of the way and just threw all his body weight at the two boys. He tightened his arms around them as he muttered apologies to them both

"I'm sorry, Tommy I shouldn't have made you do that" and "Minho I'm sorry, so sorry" They did nothing but hug him back also relieved to finally be back with the last member of their trio.  
So in this world free of The Flare, of WICKED and of Cranks, they'd try to live that normal life they missed out on.

*extended ending*

Newt pulled away from Thomas and Minho and looked them in the eye.

"Why are you here before me?" He wasn't sure that he wanted to know the answer

"Because people who died of old age and natural causes don't have to baby a child for a few years"

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly have had this idea running around in my head for a while and just needed to get it down  
> I CRIED HAPPY TEARS WHEN I THOUGHT ABOUT THE ENDING although i probably didn't write it very well :)  
> thanks for reading and leave a kudos if you liked it :)


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